Private aviation airplanes have historically utilized 4-cycle power plants which have their cylinder arrangements laid out in a horizontally opposed 2,4,6 or 8 cylinder fashion. There are many reasons for this arrangement, among which are the following:
1. Commonality of parts, which lowers manufacturing costs. PA1 2. The horizontally opposed configuration reduces vibration. PA1 3. The "flat" configuration provides for less cowling depth, which helps reduce the flat plate aerodynamic drag area. PA1 4. Air cooling is simplified by reducing the number of cylinders the air must flow past on either side.
From the pilot comfort standpoint however, the primary advantage of this arrangement is the nearly complete lack of vibration transmitted to the airframe during flight. On long cross country flights, power plant vibration contributes enormously to pilot fatigue. It can be such a major factor that the duration of flight will not be limited by fuel capacity, but instead by the length of time the pilot can tolerate the vibration level he is experiencing.
From the 1940's until the 1980's conventional flat opposed 4-cycle power plant installations dominated in light private aviation planes. In recent years however, less conventional powerplants have begun to be utilized. The most notable are the in-line two cycle configurations. Unfortunately, most of these 2-cycle power plants were designed for some other type of usage than aviation. In this regard, no special emphasis was placed by the manufacturer for mounting the engine in an airframe. The mounting of these engines has been quite haphazard due to this situation. This has resulted in high levels of vibration, and cracked engine mounts and airframes. Accordingly many pilots have taken a dim view of the discomfort and unreliability of the 2-cycle as a credible aviation power plant.
All of these objections notwithstanding, there is a great need for the two-cycle engines in aviation due to their light weight and much lower cost compared to conventional 4-cycle engines.
This invention provides mounting means useful with any type of vehicle, for example aircraft, boats and land vehicles of all types. Its primary use in the near future is expected to be in aircraft because the vibration situation is so important to aircraft operation.